What Dreams May Come
by Zarthor563
Summary: Alex learned her lesson when Gigi stole her diary and tried to ruin her rep. Now her fantasy world is in her dreams, in her head, where her secrets are safe. But what happens when a certain older brother invades her dreamland?
1. Chapter 1

**Synopsis: Alex learned her lesson when Gigi found her diary and tried to ruin her reputation. Now her fantasy world is in her dreams, in her head, where her secrets are safe. What happens when a certain big brother invades her dreamland?**

**This is my first WOWP story. Please Review.**

It's been a week since Gigi managed to manipulate Max into giving her Alex's journal, (it was easy, considering the younger Russo's endearing ignorance and his somewhat unhealthy obsession with the school's hellish queen bee.) and Alex has been in the lair since, studying. That's right, _studying. _She's been cracking every book in the place, trying to find a specific spell, though she wouldn't say what it was when asked. She even booby-trapped the entrance, so no one would disturb her. Justin had been shocked when he tried to go in and somehow ended up in Siberia.

The only person who managed to get in was Max, and that _still_ surprised Alex. The boy thought that cheerios were tiny alien pods waiting to take you over, but he still managed to subvert Alex's spell work, thus proving beyond a doubt that _yes,_ he does have a brain in his head.

He came in looking, as always, for the wand he constantly misplaced. Now, magic and Max are a dangerous combination, and it wasn't like Alex cared, she thought his hi-jinks were hilarious, and they always managed to piss off Justin, which was a plus. Still, she thought it prudent to ask why he needed it, and Max launched into an explanation she didn't really care to hear, something about marshmallow sandwiches, Kingdom Hearts, and Ryan Seacrest. He eventually found his wand, and left Alex alone. About five minutes later, there was the customary "MAX!," and Jerry's inane sputtering, which usually signals a bout of intense emotional discomfort.

At the moment, Alex was slamming a book closed in frustration. She had just been through every book in the lair, and she hadn't found the spell she wanted. That meant she would have to make it up. It wasn't that she minded, but things hadn't worked out too well the last time she did it.

She stared at her magic journal, which lay on the table in front of her.

"But keeping all my thoughts and secrets and fantasies written down is too dangerous," she said to herself, speaking her thoughts aloud as she often did in private.

"The best way to keep them safe is to keep it all in my head…" she thought some more. "I've got it!"

She opened her journal and pointed her wand at it. Smiling at her ingenuity, she began to chant the spell.

"_Take this book, page by page and scene by scene, and transport it all into my dreams."_

The book began to glow, a strange, yet comforting lavender color, and Alex watched as the ink and pastel and colored pencil seeped off the pages and into the wand. The glow disappeared, and the book sat, its pages empty. Now, Alex would have no idea if the spell worked until she fell asleep, but she was quite pleased herself. Heck, even Justin would be proud of her, she wagered, if he knew.

Alex shook her head; she had no idea where _that _had come from, but whatever. She picked up her old journal, turning it over in her hands. She'd probably use it for something trivial; a sketchbook maybe, a place to keep her art and prospective fashion designs. It seemed a waste to just chuck it away.

All she knew was that the magic journal would never again safeguard her thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thx for your reviews guys, it means a lot.**

**Pls R&R**

Because of "the incident," Max was now on suspension: no magic whatsoever. He also wasn't allowed anywhere alone for the foreseeable future. He had to be in sight of a responsible adult at all times.

But seeing as how at the moment, Jerry was busy losing to Max at _Street Fighter_, and Theresa was out grocery-shopping, the responsibility of watching over him fell to Justin, who, while his father sputtered uncontrollably as he lost again, was in the middle of reading_ The Last Days of Krypton_, which a friend had let him borrow. He popped a Sweet-tart into his mouth as he turned a page.

Although, admittedly, it was hard to read anything when his father, who possessed endearing child-like qualities, and his younger brother, who was…unique, were busy throwing taunts at each other, over the obnoxiously loud television.

As he struggled to concentrate on his book over their game session, a little annoyed about the fact he was stuck baby-sitting, he was forced to marvel at his brother's ingenuity. He still had no idea how Max had managed to get the marshmallow _inside_ the walls.

Just then Alex walked in, coming home from hanging out with Harper after school. She had a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Hi guys," she said brightly.

The two in front of the T.V. mumbled something in return.

Justin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Usually, any greeting towards him held a not so subtle insult, but she seemed genuinely happy to see everyone, him included. Which could only mean one of two things: she was actually happy, (which he didn't doubt, Alex was always in a good mood.) or she was up to something, which he also didn't doubt. He watched her covertly from behind his book as she passed out of the living room.

"Dah!" Jerry thrust the controller away in frustration.

"Maybe next time Dad," Max said with a smile.

Justin laughed. "You know he'll probably give more chores for this," he told his brother as he popped another Sweet-tart into his mouth. But Max wasn't listening; he was staring intently at Justin's box of Sweet-tarts.

"Dude, you candy is glowing," he said.

Justin rolled his eyes. He was never going to get this book done.

He looked over at the box, only to see that it _was_ glowing.

_What the hell?_ he thought, just as the Sweet-tart in his mouth began to bite ferociously at his cheek. Too late, he realized what had happened.

"ALEX!"

…

Alex was feeling great, and nothing was going to ruin that. The spell worked. She had fallen asleep in math class, (discreetly, of course) and was instantly transported to her fantasy world. She spent the rest of the hour in her princess outfit and Hello Pony blanket, cruising on Dean's motorbike. It was perfect.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, even the time she spent with Harper. She wanted the day to end and night to be here already. She was so excited! Her fantasy world was in her head now. Her secrets were safe. No one would ever be able to use them to try to humiliate her ever again.

"Dude, your candy is glowing," she heard Max say as she went up the stairs.

Moments pass.

"ALEX!" Justin's yell wafted up to her room. She laughed. She'd seen the look he'd given her when she walked in; Justin had expected her to do something, and she wasn't one to disappoint. The prank may not have been up to her usual standards, but give her a break, she was a little bit distracted at the moment. Besides, it still produced the desired reaction.

Again, Alex was surprised by the fact that it was Max who first noticed what she'd done. The boy seemed more in tune with his magical side. It seemed natural for him, easier than it was for her and Justin. Maybe it was because he was younger, and he still lived in that world where _everything_ seemed like magic. Who knew? Not her, and certainly not Max. It was a small miracle that he didn't manage to hurt himself everyday.

She remembered this morning, when he'd gotten through her enchantments and into the lair.

"How did you get past my booby trap?" she had asked.

He'd answered in typical Max Russo fashion. He looked at her with his head cocked slightly to the side, confused, and said, "What booby trap?"

Alex resolved to give Max a little more credit from now on. He might be a little strange, but he wasn't dumb. Far from it, actually.

As she dumped her bag on the floor and made her way down to the kitchen, there was only one thought in her head: Alex couldn't wait to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. I want to thank Not Just A Nerd, who was my sole reviewer for the last chapter.**

**Please R & R**

He couldn't believe it. Never in a million years, did he ever think of doing such a thing. Yet he'd done it. Justin had delved into Alex's mind. And here's the kicker: he was happy he had.

_EARLIER THAT WEEK:_

Alex's good mood was contagious; it was hard to be in her presence and _not_ feel happy. Even Justin got cheery when she was around, which was strange, considering the fact that Alex had made it her mission in life to make _his_ life miserable. The pranking didn't stop, and Justin was surprised to find himself amused, rather than annoyed, at her latest antics. Perhaps contagious wasn't the correct word. A more accurate description of her mood would be_ infectious._ Yeah, that was it.

When asked why she was so happy, Alex just shrugged, and said it had been a good day. And it was true. It had been a good day. But only because she'd had such a fantastic night.

The only drawback to her new fantasy world was that she couldn't add anything new. At least not directly. She would have to draw it into the magic journal, and then use the spell on it, so that it could appear inside her dreams. It wasn't that she minded, but between wizard lessons, school, hanging out with Harper, her shift at the sub-station, and her various plots to get Dean to like her, her new thoughts found themselves taking a backseat. They would stay in the journal, and the worry that someone might find it and abuse it was an ever-present worry in her mind.

She also didn't know how to _erase_ anything. Like that damned motorbike with the side-car attached to it. The one Justin had used when they had jousted with Gigi.

Dean's motorbike was damaged. He was tall and he was handsome, but he wasn't very bright. Somehow, he'd managed to nick both of the tires with his sword, and Alex had never imagined spares.

So they found themselves back at the jousting shed, where they kept the spare motorbikes. Or, if you want to be more accurate, _the_ spare motorbike.

There were no tools in the jousting shed either, so there was no discernable way of removing the side-car. Now that Alex thought about it, that was some serious lack of thinking on her part. Then again, she never really thought much, that was Justin's area. She just _did_ things.

Just as Sir Dean raised his sword, and was about to bring it down between the bike and the side-car, Alex screamed "NO!"

"Is something wrong, milady?" Sir Dean had asked.

Alex didn't answer. Thinking of Justin brought back memories of the time he'd spent here. And the more she thought, the more she realized she couldn't picture Dean on this bike. It was Justin's;_ it belonged to him_. She trembled a little. She didn't know why, but the idea of a part of her world belonging to Justin scared her.

Other than that though, things were great.

…_**..**_

Alex came home crying. Her parents weren't home yet, and Max was off somewhere, searching for the wand they had confiscated; he wasn't about to let a small thing like suspension keep him from his experiments.

Justin had been in his room, preparing his report for the Alien Language League when he heard the front door slam. It made him jump, causing his hand to spasm and strike a bold line through the last three paragraphs he'd written. There was no way he could get rid of it, not without ruining the rest of the report. (That's what he gets fro writing in pen.)

So he stormed down the stairs, only to find his little sister in tears.

"Alex?" he asked tentatively, his anger completely forgotten. She said nothing.

"Alex, what's wrong?" Still no answer.

Justin was worried, and a little scared. It occurred to him that he had never seen Alex cry before. He'd seen her at the verge of tears once, during that incident with the genie, but he had _never_ seen her cry.

He tried to hug her, comfort her, but she pushed him away, screaming "Leave me alone Justin!" and ran up the stairs to her room. Justin tried to follow her, but found that he could not move. He looked down and saw that his shoes had been melted, and were now glued to the floor.

…_**.**_

There were no further incidents. Alex kept herself locked in her room until their parents arrived. Dinner was quiet and uneventful. No derisive comments, no death threats, no snide remarks about Justin's sense of style. Theresa kept glancing nervously between her two children; it was obvious that something had happened between them. Justin kept shooting furtive glances at Alex, who pretended no to notice them. Theresa chose, however, to not say anything. They would have to work out their issues on their own. Far be it from her to disrupt their first civil dinner in…well…ever.

No, that was reserved for Max who, having found his wand earlier, was trying with increasing desperation to turn his dinner into a chocolate cake, and somehow managed to explode the dinner table.

…_**.**_

Justin kept tossing and turning in his bed, until he finally got up.

_I have to know what's wrong with her, _he thought. He made his way to Alex's room, to find her sleeping fitfully, if not peacefully.

He placed the tip of his wand gently on her forehead, and recited his spell.

"_Alex Russo grieves, though resilient she may seem. Grant me passage into her dreams, and show me the reason for her sorrow, which I would know before the morrow."_

For a moment nothing happened, and Justin worried he'd said the spell wrong. He blinked, trying to rid himself of his drowsiness, and when he opened his eyes, he was in Alex's fantasy world. At least, that's what it looked like, though with stark differences.

The world Justin had visited was lush and green, filled with vibrancy and color. But everything in _this_ was a dull gray, as if everything had lost its luster.

_What happened to this place?_ Justin thought with alarm. _How did it even get inside Alex's head? Alex! I need to find her!_

"Hi there!" a voice said behind him. Justin turned, and saw Alex's teddy bear. There was a small scar running down its side, where he'd gotten snagged on the motorbike that one time.

"Hi," Justin replied. "How did this place get here?"

"Alex put us here, to keep us safe from prying eyes."

_Impressive,_ Justin thought. "Have you seen Alex?"

Teddy pointed at the horizon. "At the Knight's Tower," he replied.

Justin saw a great tower in the distance. Or at the very least, the remains of one. Sections of the wall had been blown away, and the tower itself was smoking, its foundation covered in ash.

Justin thanked Teddy, and started walking.

…_**..**_

Alex was sitting at the base of the tower, curled up.

"Hi," Justin said softly.

She looked up at the sound of his voice, startled.

"How did you get in here?" she asked. He twirled his wand in response, as if to say, _Duh._

She turned herself away from him.

"Why aren't you wearing your princess costume?" Justin asked, hoping to get her to open up.

"I don't feel like one today," was her response.

"Why?"

"You're not gonna leave me alone until I tell you, are you?"

"Nope."

Silence. A small sigh. And then…

"Dean has a girlfriend."

Justin was relieved. He had been imagining far worse things all day. Still, he knew how crushed Alex had been on him. She'd even gone as far as to give him a permanent place in her fantasy world, something which, if he were being completely honest with himself, Justin had envied him for.

"It's just that, after that whole thing with Gigi, the fact that I liked him was pretty much public knowledge. He _knew_, and he'd seemed interested. And we'd been spending more time together. I know it's stupid to cry over this; I guess… I'm just not used to being unwanted."

Justin didn't know what to do. This wasn't his area of expertise; he hadn't had much luck with relationships. And this wasn't the Alex he usually dealt with. He knew she had a softer, sensitive side. He'd seen it. Once, when she accidentally wished him away, and then again, when he saw her fantasy world for the first time. He had trouble reconciling the girl he knew with the girl she kept hidden.

But he would try.

He sat down next her, and put his arms around her. She would probably set him on fire for it later, but he'd bear it, if it made her feel better.

"He may have rejected you, but that doesn't mean that no one wants you," he told her. "You're beautiful, funny, intelligent-"

A derisive snort.

"You _are_ intelligent," Justin insisted. "You just don't like to show it. You're amazingly inventive. No one can keep me on my toes like you can."

That brought a small smile to her face.

"If he can't see any of that, then it's his loss, not yours. He's not worth your time, or your tears."

"Thank you," she whispered softly, offering him another smile. They were silent for a few minutes, wrapped around each other.

"So what happened to this place?" Justin asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"It was the Knight's Tower," Alex told him. "I only had one knight… but after today, I didn't need it anymore. So I used the catapult on it."

Justin laughed. "Can't believe I missed that." And the knight?" he asked, careful not to mention his name.

"I had him devoured by a troll." Justin laughed again.

"Inventive and imaginative." This time, she laughed with him.

"So how'd you pull this off? How'd you get your fantasy world in your head?" She told him.

He expressed his awed respect for her magic, and she beamed at him.

"But I can't add anything while I'm here," she sad. "I have to wait until I'm awake, draw it in the journal, and then use the spell on it."

"Why don't you draw a magic journal in the magic journal? That, way, you have one here."

Alex shoves Justin playfully. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around." They were quiet again, and then Justin got up to leave. It was late, and they both needed sleep.

Alex grabbed his hand. He looked back at her inquiringly.

"Stay," she said.

And so Justin found himself doing something he thought he would never do in a million years: he'd delved into Alex's mind. And here's the kicker: he was happy he had.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Again, sorry it took so long. Please review.**

The pranks continued, despite Alex and Justin's newfound closeness. Last week, Alex enchanted Justin's computer to spew insults at him every time he typed a letter. Yesterday, she covered all of his comics with invisible ink. And just this morning, she enchanted his door so that the knob kept disappearing when he tried to leave.

To anyone on the outside, it seemed as though nothing had changed. Their daily routine certainly hadn't. Their _nightly _routine did.

After the incident with the boy-who-shall-never-be-named, Alex opened her mind to Justin. It happened gradually; she was hesitant at first. Alex Russo was not used to being dependent on anyone. (Emotionally, that is. Her parents don't count.) Whenever something happened, at school or somewhere else, that bothered her in some way, she usually kept it in and dealt with it herself.

Eventually though, she found herself going to Justin. She would burst into his room (what was the point in knocking?), plop herself down on his bed, and talk. But Justin's attention was divided. He was always working on some project or other, or teaching himself some new spells. So while he tried to listen, he often found himself a ways behind in the conversation.

So they compromised. The day was Justin's to with as he would, but the night was _hers._ When everyone was asleep, Justin would go to her room, say the spell that let him into Alex's head, and spend the rest of the night in her fantasy world. It got to the point where they kept spare blankets and pillows in Alex's room, so Justin's body could rest on the floor when his mind was someplace else.

Once inside this private little universe, Alex dropped all pretense. She wasn't the perky, tough girl who could take anything and dish anything in the same breath. She was the girl who was insecure, the girl who _was_ wounded by Gigi's taunt of the day, the girl who felt horrible and trapped because she could never tell her best friend the truth about being a wizard, and so was forced to be only half herself around the one person she truly trusted. When she was in her fantasy world, she was the girl only Justin was allowed to see.

Eventually, Justin earned a permanent place in Alex's world; she drew him a costume and everything, a gleaming suit of white armour. This contrasted greatly with the armour of Alex's last knight, who had been drawn in black. Justin, being Justin, just _had_ to analyze it and supposed it was because the boy-who-shall-never-be-named was the secret desire of Alex's heart, something that had to be kept hidden, in the dark. Whereas it was no secret that Alex cared about Justin. She'd proven that before, when she fought so hard to get him back after she'd accidentally wished away. She spent a considerable amount of time thinking up how to annoy him. All her pranks, snide comments, and not so-subtle threats, while extremely annoying, proved one thing beyond a doubt: Alex's world, living and otherwise, revolved around Justin.

Ever since he figured that out, there was no way Justin could stay mad at her for long. And she of course exploited this development to the best of her ability.

As time progressed and Justin's visits became more frequent, they decided it would be easier if he could just pop in every time he fell asleep, like Alex did. So together they came up with a spell to place her world in his head as well:

"_Place my dreams in Justin's head, so that when he closes his eyes, he sees them in his mind, safe in his bed."_

It took a few days for Justin to realize that now, _his_ worlds revolved around _her._

…_**...**_

To anyone else, it seemed as though their routine, their dynamic hadn't changed. At least, that's what they thought.

Max strode his way into Justin's room one day. (Why does no one knock!)

"What's up, Max?" Justin said, looking up from the model Gundam he'd been constructing.

"I've always wondered why people ask that,' Max said by way of response. He had his thinking face on, which was never a good thing. "When obviously, the ceiling is up… unless there's something there that's _not_ ceiling…."

"Was there something you needed?" Justin asked, before Max carried himself away.

"Not really," the younger Russo replied. "I just got this book from the library, read the first page and decided it was really boring. I thought you might like it." He placed the book on Justin's bed.

"Okay…" Justin was pretty sure Max had just insulted him. That was new. Justin picked up the book, _The Children of Húrin. _"Thanks."

Max left without a word, and Justin turned back to his Gundam RX-78. About five minutes later, Justin heard their dad yell "MAX!," sputtering uncontrollably, and he had to fight back a smile.

…_**...**_

Justin lay his bed, a little disturbed. He'd just finished the book Max had lent him. The fate of Túrin and his sister, Nienor, had shocked him. As he lay there, it occurred to him that maybe Max had lent him the book _because _of its ending. Alex did say that there was some brain underneath his…whatever it was.

_But that wouldn't happen to me and Alex,_ Justin thought. _We already __**know**__ we're related. So if we ever did decide to get married-_

_Wait. What?_

_Damn it._


	5. Chapter 5

**Please Review**

* * *

"Hey Max, can I talk to you for a sec?" Justin asked.

"You just did," he responded, without looking up from the TV; he was in the middle of a boss fight that had been kicking his ass for the last three days.

"Huh?"

"You wanted to talk for a second, but you used about five in asking the question." Max lost again, thrust the controller away from himself in frustration, and looked up at his older brother. "What's up?" he asked.

"I finished the book you gave me."

"You like it?"

"The ending was a bit screwed up."

"I only read the first page, remember?"

"Right." _So maybe there was no ulterior motive behind it. Maybe he really did think it was my kind of book. Besides, it did make me realize...some things._

He left the book on Max's bed, so he can return it to the library. As Justin turned to leave, Max spoke again.

"Just be careful, 'kay?"

_That_ stopped Justin in his tracks. When he turned around to ask what he meant, Max had already disappeared; he teleported himself into the TV so he could try the boss fight that way. Now it was _literally_ kicking his ass.

* * *

The final bell rang, signaling the end of school for the day, and Justin sighed in relief. He couldn't concentrate all day: his mind had been filled, no, plagued by thoughts of Alex, which seemed to be the new norm for him.

_Am I in love with my sister? How and when did that happen? It's wrong! It's illegal, unethical, and there's no way in hell that she would ever feel the same...How did I jump to __**this**__ line of thinking? Am I seriously considering...?_

"Are you okay?" Alex's voice snapped Justin out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you okay?" Alex repeated. "You barely said a word on the bus, not even when I spelled your shoes to untie and then tangle themselves." (Max stayed home, nursing the black eye he'd received inside the game.)

Justin smiled at the memory, though he knew he shouldn't; he'd tripped because of that, and landed face first on the walkway. Still, he couldn't help himself.

"I'm fine," he answered her. Just thinking about some things."

Alex made a face and snorted derisively. "You're _always_ thinking. If you did a little less of it, your life would be a lot more exciting. Do something fun for once, something spontaneous."

"I'll think about it," Justin replied, the smile still on his face. Alex stuck her tongue out at him. Then, with a malevolent little chuckle, Alex waved her wand over Justin's backpack, and held back a laugh as it sprouted wings.

"ALEX!" Justin yelled as he was flown the rest of the way home.

* * *

Alex sat on her bed, doodling in her notebook. It was the rough draft of a castle that she wanted to add to _their _fantasy world.

"When did I start thinking of it as ours?" Alex asked no one in particular.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn't really picture the world she'd created without Justin in it. He meant that much to her now. Actually, if she was being completely honest with herself, he'd _always _meant that much to her. She just had an easier time admitting it now than she used to.

Alex stared at the drawing for a couple of seconds, then discarded it, crumpling it up and throwing in the pile with the others. She wanted this castle to be perfect. It _needed_ to be perfect. It was where she and Justin would live, the knight and his princess.

_Wait. What?_

_Crap!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Please Review**

Something very strange was happening in the Russo household, though Theresa couldn't really place her finger on what it was. Justin and Alex were actually acting civil towards one another…somewhat. The pranks lessened, in their intensity if not in frequency. Instead of filling his pants with flesh-eating jellybeans, they were slathered in week-old gravy. She stopped kidnapping his action figures and holding them ransom for weeks on end. Although, she _did _zip his mouth shut for a few days.

Justin, for his part, no longer reacted to her pranks. At least, not in the usual way. There were no screams of protest, no unfulfilled promises of revenge. He threw his pants in the wash. After the mouth-zipping incident, he actually congratulated Alex on her ingenuity. It was beyond weird.

Theresa tried talking to Jerry about it, but he was just happy that the two eldest were finally getting along. He was more concerned with whether or not they should put Max in therapy. After careful consideration of their son's behavior and dwindling common sense over the years, Theresa begrudgingly agreed that that was the more immediate worry.

But that by no means meant she was going to forget about the other two, not by a long shot.

* * *

Alex sat in her room, thinking. Which, by definition, meant she was spending _way_ too much time with Justin. But that wasn't something she could help, since thanks to their spell they now spent every night together.

Technically speaking. Justin didn't talk much anymore, and while that was an improvement over the spouting of random facts of knowledge she didn't really care to know about, she missed the conversation. He was distant whenever they hung out, and she thought she knew why.

A few weeks ago, Alex came face to face with the possibility that she might be falling for her brother. As she thought more about it, she found herself attracted, rather than repulsed by the idea. Justin was the ideal guy, though she would _**never**_ say that to his face. He was intelligent, he was kind, he could be funny if he tried. He had incredible patience. (Who else would put up with all the crap she puts him through?) And he had this insane ability to make Alex feel better, no matter what the situation. He was always there for her, the list went on and on.

In light of her newly discovered feelings, Alex decided it was time to start being nice to Justin. Not _too_ nice, mind you, but nice. She almost always disregarded her first ideas for pranks, which for some reason now included some form of bodily injury and the forceful removal of Justin's shirt. She stopped stealing his money. She actually _asked_, which surprisingly enough, made him more willing to give it up. If she'd known _that_, she would've started being nice to him a long time ago.

Then again, maybe not.

And Justin was being nicer to her too, in his way. He wasn't so pissed when she pranked him, which took a lot of the fun out of it. What was the point if he wasn't going to _react_? He'd actually taken to congratulating her instead, which, if Alex were being honest, worked just as well. He was smiling at her more often too. More than once, he'd take her hand in his. And she would hope.

But it always ended the same way. His brow would furrow, and the smile would disappear. He would let go, make some excuse and walk away. Whenever she tried to get him alone, Max always seemed to be in the room, and Justin made the excuse of helping him with homework or some other thing. Which of course could only mean one thing: Justin was being Mr. Negative, thinking about only the bad things of their being together. It was wrong, she's my sister, blah blah blah. That had crossed Alex's mind too, but she chose to focus on the positive instead.

Justin thought way too much, it was his biggest problem, one she intended to fix.

She didn't stress it too much; she already had a plan in place. What Alex Russo wants, Alex Russo gets, one way or the other.


	7. Chapter 7

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"I still don't see why you think I need therapy," Max told his father as he flipped through _Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth._

"Max, you tried to flush yourself this morning," Jerry said. "And you're holding the comic book upside down."

"I wanted to see where I would go!" Max exclaimed as he flipped the comic right-side up. He'd said it in an exasperated tone of voice, as though he thought people regularly tried to flush themselves in order to satisfy their curiosity about the septic system.

A centaur with a clipboard enters the waiting area.

"Max Russo?" she called. With a sigh, Max stood up and entered the shrink's office.

After some discussion, Jerry and Theresa decided it would best if Max saw someone in the wizarding world, as opposed to someone in the mortal realm. That way, Max wouldn't have to worry about hiding the fact that he's wizard, and he would be able to express whatever he's feeling more freely.

This was the first time Jerry had visited the wizarding community since he'd passed his powers on to Kelbo, and this brief excursion into the world he had left behind was bittersweet. Magic was at the center of everything, it resonated in everything. So everywhere Jerry went, there was a reminder of the power he had once possessed, and given away.

Then Jerry remembered the reason _why_ he'd given his powers away, and he smiled, because he knew he was happier now than he'd ever been.

About twenty minutes pass, and Max is flung out of the shrink's office. He is soon followed by said shrink, who is pointing an accusatory finger in his direction. His hair is singed, a few of the individual roots still slightly flaming. His dress shirt was ruined, covered in something that resembled slime, and for some odd reason there was a jellyfish attached to his left leg.

"Get that kid out of here!" the shrink yelled.

"What did you do?" Jerry asked his son.

Max shrugged. "He looked like that when I went in."

The centaur with the clipboard passed Jerry a slip of paper.

"The bill," she said.

Jerry stared at it for a second.

"DAH!"

* * *

"So what is this big surprise?" Sir Justin asked Princess Russo.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, dork!" was her princessy, elegant remark.

"Smooth, Alex." Princess Russo stuck her tongue out at him.

"Whatever. Turn around, doofus." Sir Justin complied.

Standing on her tippy-toes, Princess Russo covered Sir Justin's eyes with her hands.

"Walk," she commanded.

So it was that Sir Justin found himself walking blind, with only Princess Russo for guidance. For a moment he thought she was going to prank him again, but he shrugged it off.

They walked for a bit, with her royal eminence giving monosyllabic instructions: Turn, run, skip, spin. It got to the point where Sir Justin got so dizzy he wouldn't have gotten where they were going even if he could see. And Princess Russo was having _way_ too much fun.

"And…stop!" she said. "We're here."

"And where, exactly, _is_ here?"

"Just enjoy it, 'kay dork?" And with that, she uncovered his eyes.

Sir Justin was speechless as he stared up at the enormous castle, its white spires and parapets glinting in the sun. The structure itself was massive. As far as he could tell, it stretched for miles in every direction, and was easily visible from anywhere in the world.

The princess took his hand. "You like it?"

"It's amazing…wait, is this why you had me tied to a tree all day? So you could _draw_?"

Princess Russo shrugged. "I don't like to be interrupted when I'm working." The knight laughed.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"We shall."

They entered the new palace together, and explored it room by room, still hand in hand. For the last few weeks, Alex had taken every chance she had to touch Justin. A hug here. A peck on the cheek there. Holding his hand more often. He didn't shy away anymore. More often than not, he was the one taking hold of _her_ hand. Granted, he didn't realize he was doing it. But when he did notice, he didn't stop. Ever so slowly, the wall between them was crumbling down. Ultimately, his acceptance of those covert embraces was what led her to do this. Hopefully, he would take this in stride, as he had done everything else. If not…there were other ways to get him, but she wanted this to be real, so she would try it this way first.

They saved the bedroom for last.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took so long. Please Review. I don't own WOWP or the song at the end. **

* * *

The bedchamber was simple; there were some dresser drawers, the window faced the east, where they could watch the sunrise. In the middle of the room, there was a queen size canopy bed, the headrest carved out of mahogany. If Justin didn't know any better, he would've thought that Alex had given the bed more detail than the rest of the room combined. He pushed that thought out of his mind. He was already hyper-aware of the fact that they were holding hands; he didn't need to dwell on anything in _that_ direction.

Then again, Alex was all his mind wanted to think about. In the last few weeks, Justin had noticed that he and Alex were touching more often. A hug. A peck on the cheek. He himself had taken hold of her hand on more than one occasion. She didn't shy away from his hand. If anything, she seemed put off whenever he let go. Her hugs were tight, almost as though she didn't want it to end. She smiled at him now, too.

Whenever that happened, Justin dared to hope. Maybe, just maybe, Alex felt the same way.

But then it would fade, and the anxiety returned, the guilt. But each time, those feelings would fade faster, last shorter. More often than not, at the end of the day, Justin found himself wishing that he'd had the courage to turn his head when she'd kissed his cheek.

The only thing holding him back now was fear, the fear that she would not feel the same way.

"Well?" Princess Russo asked.

"It's nice," Sir Justin replied, glancing around the room one last time. "Let's see the other one."

"There isn't another one."

The knight stared at the princess.

"This is the only bedroom."

_But there's only one bed…_ Sir Justin thought. He said nothing. The princess had obviously planned this; it was her show. She tugged on his hand and he obediently followed.

They sat on the bed.

She stared at him for a moment, saying nothing.

Her face inched closer to his, and before Sir Justin knew it, their lips were touching.

She pulled back and stared again, trying to gauge his reaction.

Justin was ecstatic, though he somehow managed to keep a straight face.

_She kissed me. She kissed me! She wants to be with me! But, we can't be together…not in the traditional sense. We still live with our parents, for crying out loud, and Max suspects something._

_Then again, Alex and I were never traditional._

"Alex," he began. "We can't be together."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear. She was about to grab her wand, but he grabbed her hand.

"We can't be together," Justin repeated. "But we can dream." And then, he kissed her back.

_Here's my chance to think up_

_All the things I want to say,_

_All the things that make me feel that I'm afraid._

_The Clock is turning backwards_

_As my mind has gone astray,_

_And the world before me simply peels away._

_Like a poor and broken child_

_I'm here among the wild,_

_Thorns that cut me deep when I breathe in…_

_I'm tearing away_

_From all of the pain_

_From all of the things that make me feel like I can't dream._


	9. Chapter 9

**Please Review**

* * *

Alex peeked at Justin as he glanced around the room; he seemed disappointed, as though he'd expected something far grander. The dork in him was really into the whole medieval thing. In her defense, she hadn't really paid attention to the rest of the room. Alex had spent most of her time and energy drawing the bed at the center. His eyes reached the bed, and they seemed to linger. His grip on her hand tightened.

His eyes glazed a bit, as if he were lost in thought. What he had to think about, Alex had no idea. While his expressions had always been easy for her to read, his mind was something else. Of course, she could always cast a spell that let her read his mind…but maybe that wasn't such a good idea. The guy was a walking encyclopedia, thesaurus, dictionary, atlas, and almanac all in one: his mind was bound to be incredibly boring.

Besides, Alex had enough things to think about without Justin's random knowledge facts rambling through her head. While she was fairly certain her plan would work, (he was still depriving her hand of much needed blood and oxygen.) she had a set of contingency plans in place. She could use a love potion, a mind-control spell, or she could turn him into a mindless zombie whose sole purpose was to please her. What? So she was in love. That didn't mean she couldn't be devious, did it?

But Alex was pretty sure it wouldn't come to any of that. He seemed to be pretty comfortable around her now. She glanced at Justin again; he still had that faraway look in his eyes.

She began to tap her foot, just a tad bit annoyed.

"Well?" she finally asked, rather crossly.

That finally brought him out of it, whatever _it _was.

"It's nice," he said, giving the room one last glance. "Let's see the other one."

Alex took a deep breath. This was the moment.

"There isn't another one."

He stared at her, apparently confuzzled.

So she tried again. "This is the only bedroom."

Still, he said nothing. Was he brain-dead all of a sudden? No, Alex could see by the way he tensed that he was working things out mentally. It was just a little to slow for her liking.

The princess led her knight to the bed, where they sat.

Neither of them said anything. They just sat there, gazing at one another in a companionable, yet awkward silence.

Then, ever so slowly, Alex inched herself forward. Closer…closer…closer…until _finally_, their lips touched.

Justin didn't respond at all; he barely even moved. Alex pulled, and felt really afraid for the first time.

"Alex," he said finally. "We can't be together."

She felt broken inside. But she wasn't about to let him see her cry, not again. She went for her wand, planning to turn him into something icky, a slug perhaps, but he grabbed her arm.

"We can't be together," he said again. He stared into her eyes. "But we can dream." And THEN he kissed her back.

Alex couldn't help but smile through their kiss. Typical Justin, overly dramatic and hopelessly romantic.

_Dork._


	10. Chapter 10

**Please Review**

* * *

Max was in a celebratory mood: his parents had _finally_ lifted his suspension, though they did it with ill grace. They'd been playing cat and mouse for weeks now. They would hide his wand, he'd find it, do something spectacular…and the process repeated itself. In the end, they ended their no magic ban; it wasn't like it had stopped him before.

They had given up the therapy thing too, for now anyway; no wizard therapist in the tri-state area wanted anything to do with Max, and was going to do everything in his power to make sure it stayed that way. He knew there was nothing wrong with him, not in the way his parents thought there was something wrong him.

He simply played the role he was given. The roles of smart, responsible one and devious devotee of Chaos were both taken.

There were perks to acting idiotic: you wouldn't believe the things you could get away with when people thought you had the I.Q. of a hotdog. Why do they call it a hot_dog_ when it's made from pork? It doesn't even look like a dog…except the Weiner ones, but they're only called Weiner dogs because they look like hotdogs right? Or is it the other way around?

Anyywayyss…Max was in a celebratory mood. In honor of the end of his no magic stint, he thought he would do something fun: He'd prank Alex and Justin.

He'd taken to doing that lately. He found that if their attention was focused on him, it would keep their attention away from each other. This was, of course, vital to their survival. Their parents could under no circumstances be allowed to suspect anything.

Justin suspected that Max suspected, and therefore suspected what he was doing, so he allowed it, ever the smart one. Alex, however, would get furious, which of course made it all the more fun! There were, in fact, in the middle of a prank war.

Why is Max supportive of Alex and Justin's relationship? At first he thought it was weird. Not disgusting. Just weird. Then he realized that he'd done weirder things, so he shouldn't judge. And if it kept them from killing each other, then what the hell. Max didn't think about it too often. In fact, he rarely thought anything. He just let the chips fall where they may.

At the moment, he was searching for his wand, which he had misplaced. Again. In the end he gave up looking for it and settled for pranking them in the old-fashioned way. He was happy just as long as his wand didn't turn up splintered in the garbage disposal. Again.

* * *

He waited until they each fell asleep. The last time he'd pranked them awake, he got himself thrown into the alternate dimension Justin kept in his closest, and they left him there for weeks.

It was Alex's idea, of course. Justin doesn't have the brain for that kind of thing. The fact that Justin had agreed so readily wasn't surprising either; Alex had Justin wrapped around her finger. Or maybe he was just afraid she'd lock _him_ in the alternate dimension.

What was that called again? Iron? Ironical? Iron Man? He needed to pay more attention in English class.

Anyways, for some reason, whatever they did at night had them feeling all lovey towards each other in the morning, and Max couldn't have that. Waking up to a prank should set them straight for the rest of the day.

So crept into each of their rooms, with a good old Sharpie. As he drew on their faces, he couldn't help but sing "Jigglypuff" softly to himself. He left sniggering.

* * *

He was headed down to breakfast when the house reverberated with the thunderous, simultaneous cries of "MAX!"

And all was right with the world.


	11. Chapter 11

**Please Review. Also, please note that this is the final chapter. I have a sequel in mind, which I will post as soon as my workload goes down. Please tell me what you think of the ending, I wasn't too fond of it. It felt rushed. Thanks for Reading!**

* * *

Unlike his sister, Justin was a light sleeper. Pretty much anything woke him up. This was a problem, because it meant his mind was split, metaphorically speaking. Split between the dreamworld and the waking world, almost like he was in both at once. That led to him being continually distracted.

Like right now, for instance.

He and Alex were in the middle of a make-out session by the lake, when all of a sudden Justin felt something tickle his face. (Yes. He rhymes in his sleep. Is that really so surprising?)

There were no bugs nearby, and Alex wasn't doing it, her face was connected to his at the present. Which meant it was something on the outside, in the waking world.

He didn't like to think of it as the real world: as far as he was concerned, they were both _real_.

As he pushed those thoughts out of his mind, choosing to ignore whatever was happening outside, he could have sworn he heard someone singing "Jiggylypuff." Weird.

* * *

Justin woke up, stretched, turned off his Captain Jim Bob Sherwood night-light, and made his outside to the bathroom. He and Alex bump into each other in the hallway...and stare at each other's faces in horror.

As he stared at Alex's comical, yet poorly drawn loopy bad-guy mustache, it finally occurred to him _why_ someone was singing "Jigglypuff" last night...

Alex reached the same conclusion the same time he did.

"MAX!" They yell simultaneously.

As Alex rushed down the stairs to punish their little brother, Justin couldn't help but smile. For a while now, Max had taken to pranking him and Alex. Justin hadn't understood why at first, until he realized that it started right after he and Alex started dating. Dream-dating? Dating.

Which meant that Max was helping them, trying to keep their daily routine as normal as possible without arousing suspicion from their parents.

He'd always suspected that Max knew, and his pranks confirmed it. As much as the pranks annoyed him, because he now had to deal with him _and_ Alex, it was nice to have someone on their side.

Max wasn't as dumb as he led everyone to think. He was even witty enough to make a Pokemon reference. He would give Max more credit in the future.

"OUCH!" Max yelled.

Justin realized he should get down there before Alex did something drastic. The last time he pranked her, she shoved him in the alternate dimension he kept in his closet and left him there for weeks.

While he hadn't approved, he wasn't about to argue, otherwise she'd throw _him_ in there. It wasn't an experience he wanted to relive. Besides, who told Max to replace her shampoo with worm-infested mud?

When he finally got downstairs, Max was hanging by his underwear from the ceiling fan.

Justin fought back a smile as he took out his wand.

* * *

That night, Princess Russo gave to Sir Justin the greatest gift a woman can give a man. She fell asleep secure in the knowledge that whatever life threw at them, whatever dreams came their way, they would face it together.


End file.
